Smile
by Illusions of Insanity
Summary: Even though the world kept spinning, sometimes it felt like time stood still.


Another noon at the Fey and Co. Law Offices.

Phoenix Wright sighed as he reluctantly walked over to the television, couch and small table that sat in Mia—no, his office. At the table sat Maya Fey, the younger sister to his late mentor and boss. As bright sunlight streamed in through the windows, it made it harder to believe that it had been only a mere week since his last case. It might be cliché to some, but the days were a blur without any work. The case prior to his recent victory had been of Mia Fey's murder, and the cold image of the kind and gentle woman slumped under this very windowsill was constantly haunting him, leaving numb and longing for his best friend once again.

He tried to carry on, but the grief never seemed progress beyond the distance and pain. He absently wondered if taking a break would help, but he knew that he would never be able to stop his work as a lawyer when there was innocent people who were accused of hideous crimes they could never commit. Instead Phoenix did the one thing he knew how; he carried on when everything seemed impossible.

"Hey, Phoenix!" The sudden sound of a voice pulled Phoenix away from his swirling thoughts. His almond eyes blinked in confusion as he found himself pointed at the window with a can of lemonade in his hand, the perspiration running through his fingers and dripping on to the carpet. He was standing directly in front of the windowsill Mia's body had been found. A pain stung in his chest at the discovery, forcing himself to turn away from the scene and look to his left.

Standing there was none other than Maya Fey, Mia's younger sister and in some sense of the word, his partner. The girl was more or less his responsibility when her sister passed, as there was no one else to take her in. The young spirit medium in training was giving him a worried look as her hand hung limply in the air. Phoenix looked to the table to find both plates untouched, despite Maya's fondness for burgers.

The young girl's eyes clouded over as she realized what was bothering him. "Hey," she mumbled as she reached out and placed her hand on his arm. "It's gonna be okay." Phoenix looked at her as if she was delusional. How could she look so calm when her sister had died in this very spot? "You gotta come eat before our food gets cold, Nick. Nothing's more disappointing than a cold burger."

The young attorney nodded in a strange sort of daze before following her back to the small table. The two sat on their knees in silence for a few moments before Maya calmly helped Phoenix open his lemonade and turned towards the television.

"You know," she mused as the man lifted the can to his lips, "They're gonna play the Steel Samurai movie one last time before the reruns are taken off the air." She turned to him with hopeful ebony eyes and a small smile, almost as if she was trying to look happy for him. "You're gonna watch it with me today, right?"

Phoenix Wright placed the drink down and moistened his lips absently, still feeling a deep pit in his stomach. He eventually turned his head to look at Maya and gave her a small nod. "Yeah," he breathed as her eyes lit up, "I'll watch it with you."

"Awesome," she shouted, a sudden burst of cheer entering the air. She beamed at him with a blinding, genuine smile. "Thanks, Nick! It'll be really cool, promise. It's got a lot of action and fighting and even a bit of mystery in it!"

Phoenix's heart stopped as he watched her ramble on about her favorite show, her words muted in his ears. That smile was the spitting image of Mia's, bright and youthful. The image brought another picture of his late best friend to his mind, this one much happier. It was the time when they had saved Larry from trouble yet again and the young man had somehow gotten the idea that Mia was interested in him. There was the Butz, throwing joke after pun her way, making her laugh and smile at his stupidity. The memory brought back a smile to his face, if only for a moment.

But that moment was better than nothing at all, and he was grateful.

* * *

 _Author's Note: After watching a Let's Play on Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright, I realized that my interest in the series was very much deserved. With detective-like thinking, bad puns and so many plot twists, these dorky lawyers are very cool. I wrote this after watching the original Turnabout missions (Episodes 1-4) and thinking that it would have been nice to see some on screen mourning for Mia, as her death is very much a key point in the series. I hope that you enjoyed my little drabble!_


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